This invention relates to fast packet networks and, more particularly, to performance management and control of such networks.
The voice network comprises a large plurality of interconnected switches that are arranged hierarchically and adapted to route voice traffic. The notion of managing such a network is not new. In the context of such voice networks, the network management paradigm includes having the switches report various status indications, such as what load they carry, and what spare capacity they have to a network management center. Based on this information, the network management center controls routing of forthcoming calls when necessary (e.g. when switch failures occur).
Packet networks (e.g. ATM, IP, and Frame Relay) are quite different in their operation and consequent behavior and, till now, there has not been an overall network management operations system that could be applied to such packet networks. Companies like Cisco and NewBridge do make element management systems (EMSs) which interact with a plurality of their respective network elements (e.g., routers and switches). An interface has been standardized for the communication of information between network elements (NEs) and the EMS with which they communicate. Different types of networks have different standards, however. For example, the standard for ATM networks is different from the standard for IP networks.
To provide a view of the entirety of a packet network, there is a need to combine the information that is obtained from the numerous EMSs that are installed in the network, and some of the above-mentioned companies have attempted to create such systems. However, the available systems appear to only report on the provided information and develop alarm reports when thresholds are exceeded, but do no other analysis of the data. Consequently, these systems cannot make recommendations for altering the behavior of the NEs and, expectedly, do not have a mechanism for actually controlling the NEs. This, of course, leads to a less than optimized utilization of the packet network.
The problems of the prior art are overcome, and enhanced operation is attained for packet networks with a performance management operations system (PMOS) that receives information from network elements concerning loads carried and lost packets, receives threshold and other parameter information for a network management console, performs various calculations on the received information, and develops recommendations for setting of adjustable network elements controls that affect the quality of service that those elements provide. For those network elements that are capable of receiving operation control signals from the PMOS and that the network management console ceded a measure of control to the PMOS, the developed recommendations are converted to control signals that are directly applied by the PMOS to the network elements to control the network elements"" operations.